1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a technology for transmitting image data of a document with an information disclosure level.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent management of image data of a document employs additional information such as an information disclosure level embedded in the image data in a pattern of a background or in a form of a barcode. The embedded additional information read at the time of scanning the image data can be used to protect the image data from being illegally used.
By setting the information disclosure level, such as “for internal consumption only”, “confidential”, or “an ordinary document”, in information in advance, a disclosure of the information can be controlled.
Moreover, today's demand for enhancing information security requires more detailed security settings, necessitating, for example, a change of an information disclosure level depending on a destination for transmitting image information (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-151149).
However, in a case where an information disclosure level is set in a document in a pattern of a background or a form of a barcode, a sender cannot recognize the information disclosure level, which may lead to a wrong transmission. Particularly, when the sender is not a creator of the document, such a problem occurs highly likely.